The Picture
by MoonlightKCreations
Summary: The latest assignment Mr. Simmons throws at his students is a photography project of something they treasure. But when Arnold snaps a picture of Helga at the park, he finds out something about her that she's been hiding from him for years.
1. The Picture

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hey Arnold! The events of "Hey Arnold! The Movie" never happened in this timeline.

 **The Picture**

 **By Moonlight**

Chatter filled the halls of PS 118. Gossip about what the day's lunch was, who was caught cheating on the latest math test, or what fights were going to happen in the playground after school. A group of 6th grade girls were gathered outside the girl's bathroom, giggling about who they thought was wearing the cutest outfit. Some second graders were running through the halls throwing paper airplanes while Principal Wartz chased them down, warning them about school rules and the consequences of running in the building. It was a typical day.

Arnold walked into the classroom and took his seat. Drowning out the sound of his classmates, he opened his textbook and began to read the passage, before he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Are you really just now starting to read last night's chapter?"

He turned to face the source of the voice that had spoken to him. Dark, curly hair and a friendly smile stood before him. "Good morning, Gerald." He said in a slightly tired voice. A yawn escaped his lips before he continued, "Nah. I was just reviewing some key points. You never know when there could be a pop quiz or something. Why don't we review together?"

Gerald took a seat next to his best friend, "You think of everything, my man. But I don't think I'll take the extra time to do that. I've got some other stuff to take care of." He laughed, pulling out a comic book, "I'm almost done with this chapter, and MAN it's getting good."

"Sounds good, Gerald." Arnold returns to his book before being interrupted once again by a familiar voice.

"Out of the way, Sid. You're blocking the path to my seat!"

He looked up to see exactly who he thought it was. Helga was pushing her way through the crowd of students as she made her way to the back of the room, as usual. He never understood why she had to be so ill tempered all the time. There was something about her that she wouldn't open up about herself. Arnold had always known she was hiding another side of her personality.

His thoughts were cut off by a spitball smacking into the back of his head. He turned to, once again, see Helga laughing at the shenanigan she just committed.

"Alright, class!"

The voices died down at the sound of Mr. Simmons' cheerfulness.

All eyes on the front of the classroom, the man happily threw his arms in the air, "I have a very special assignment for everyone! You're going to love this!" he exclaimed.

"I reckon this is going to really bite" Stinky groaned.

Simmons frowned for a split second before responding to the comment, "No. Stinky, it's going to be fun! Today you will all be checking out a camera from the school and you will be doing a photography assignment!"

The class groaned.

"Your assignment will be to take a picture of something you're passionate about" he said with his usual excited tone of voice, "You can, and are encouraged to take more than one photo until you find the perfect one! All of your pictures will be displayed in the hallway, outside our classroom. Isn't it exciting?!"

Rhonda pulled out her compact mirror and stared deeply at her reflection.

"Are you going to be taking a picture of yourself, Rhonda?"

"Precisely, Nadine!" she responds matter-of-factly, "Of course my beauty is my passion. I mean, I DO spend SO much time deciding how I want to look every single day."

"I'm going to take a picture of my Armadillidiidae collection! They're such amazing creatures. They curl into a little ball as a form of defense against predators!"

Helga couldn't help but overhear their conversation and chimed in with one of her typical comments, "Of COURSE Rhonda wouldn't think about anything being more important to her than herself. I mean look at her stare at that mirror! She's practically drooling." She laughed.

Rhonda closed her compact in slight agitation and turned to glare at the blonde girl in pink, "So WHAT? I don't see you being passionate about anything except your awful ego, Helga."

She scowled briefly before responding, "As a matter of fact, you're WRONG, Rhonda. I DO have something I'm passionate about and it's definitely NOT THAT." She scoffed.

"So what is it, then?"

Helga could feel her cheeks flush and a bead of sweat threatened to run down her forehead. "It's… u-uhh…" her eyes frantically darted around the room trying to find some random, mundane item she could lie about, "It's… a…"

"Well?" Rhonda said impatiently.

"A… W—why do YOU need to know, anyway?" she finally managed as she sat back in her chair and stared ahead of her at Arnold, who had been watching the whole thing happen. "What are YOU looking at, football-head?!"

The boy sighed in defeat and returned to his book.

"THAT'S what I THOUGHT."

Arnold wondered what it was she was referring to. It was interesting to him that Helga was so passionate about something she wouldn't mention. A part of him wanted to know what it was, but he guessed he would have to wait until all of the pictures were displayed at the end of the assignment.

Helga sighed dreamily as she stared at the back of the boy's head. She couldn't tell Rhonda or anyone in the class what her passion was. She thought about taking pictures of her hair bow instead of her real passion. It did mean a lot to her, as it was the first thing Arnold had commented on about her when they were kids.

"That's it", she quietly said to herself. "I'll take a picture of my bow."

Gerald leaned in towards Arnold, "Lemme guess. You're going to take a picture of… a baseball game. I'll have my man, Fuzzy Slippers, get us some good seats to the next game so you can get good shots." He said confidently.

"Actually, Gerald, I was thinking of going out to the park and getting some pictures of the scenery. I feel like I connect more with that. But thank you for the offer." He smiled and got up to follow the rest of the class to pick up his assigned camera.

It was getting late, Helga noticed, as the sun started to set before her. She made her way to the park where she felt she could be alone and not have to bear with her dysfunctional family's commotion. The previous night, like EVERY night, it was the same thing. Miriam was passed out drunk on the couch only waking up for moments at a time whenever Big Bob whined loudly enough about what they were going to have for dinner that she was too lazy to cook for him. All Helga could do was search the kitchen cupboards to find some random snack and hide in her room for the rest of the evening.

So of course she didn't want to head home. Instead, she admired the scenery before her. The soft breeze blowing through her pigtails and the gorgeous colors of the setting sun soothed her.

"Well, I guess I need to get a picture of my bow." She said to herself as she pulled out her camera and turned it around and up to point the lens at the top of her head.

Click.

She looked at the display and groaned slightly at the picture. She had aimed terribly.

Click.

Click.

Click.

"Criminy! I don't think I can get a proper picture of this thing unless I take it off or have someone else take the picture for me." She set the camera down on the bench next to her and reached into her dress to pull out her locket. "Oh Arnold. If I were getting a picture of you, it would be perfect!" She spoke to the photo as if it could hear her, "I mean, you're so photogenic with that odd-shaped head of yours."

A swoon escaped her lips.

From across the park, Arnold walked slowly, looking through the pictures he had already taken this afternoon. He hadn't really liked the pictures he took enough to use them for the assignment.

"I need something better" he said as he lifted the camera to take another picture. He scanned the park for a moment, before he spotted Helga on the bench across the way. She had an expression on her face that Arnold had only seen on rare occasions. A soft smile and a dreamy look in her eyes.

Click.

He paused to look at the picture, happy that he was able to capture such a rare sight of his classmate.

Click.

Again, he took a glance at the photo and admired the shot. "Wow. That actually looks really nice." He said. The colors of the sunset painted the background complimented the expression Helga dawned. "It flows so well. I'll use this one."

He decided to walk up and ask her for permission to use the photo, but was greeted the usual Helga way.

"CRIMINY! Don't sneak up on me like that, football-head! You're going to give me a heart attack!" She exclaimed, stumbling out of the bench and shoving the locket back into her dress.

Arnold frowned and, as usual, apologized for startling her. "Sorry, Helga. I was just coming over to-"

"To WHAT? KILL me?" She scoffed and dusted herself off before picking up her camera.

"-to ask you if it's okay to-" cut off once again, he resigned himself to forget asking her about it.

Helga practically threw her camera his way, "Speaking of asking for favors, take a picture of my bow, will yah? I'm having a hard time getting a good angle on the darned thing and it's driving me NUTS."

The boy juggled the cameras in his hands briefly before setting his on the bench behind Helga and pointing hers at her face. "Sure. So your bow is special to you?" He asked.

"What's it to you, hairboy?" She scowled.

"Nothing." He said and smiled faintly, "I just think it's pretty cute."

Helga felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment, and before she could compose herself, Arnold snapped the picture, checked the image quickly, and handed her the camera back. "It looks pretty good!" He said happily as he collected his device and turned in the direction of the boarding house, "Want me to walk you home?"

"W-wa..." She shook her head furiously before collecting her thoughts, "Fine. But don't expect me to do you any favors in return."

"Whatever you say, Helga."

They both headed out of the park and to their respective homes as the sun completely set behind them.

Arnold made his way through the hall, passing a very lively grandma who was dancing around the living space in a red Spanish dress and a somewhat ridiculous fruit hat.

"Welcome home, Kimba!" She announced as an apple rolled off of her head onto the floor in front of Arnold.

He picked it up and returned her smile, "Hi grandma."

With that, he walked up to his room and closed the door behind him. It was unusually quiet this evening in the boarding house, but he payed no mind and instead hopped onto his computer and plugged in the camera to review the pictures. As it loaded, he took a few bites out of the apple in his hand.

The familiar sound of a successfully connected device chimed through the speakers and he excitedly opened the folder of photos he collected earlier.

He sifted through many shots of trees, the sky, and a few pedestrians that he had spotted at the park and then came to the last two pictures.

Admiring the color balance and placement of the bench Helga was sitting on, he noticed she was embracing something. "Hmm?" He hummed as he zoomed in to the picture.

It was some sort of jewelry.

"That must be very special to her," he said to himself as he analyzed her content expression, "I wonder why she didn't just take a picture of that for her assignment?" Her half-open eyes seemed to twinkle and her mouth was curled into a dazzling smile. "This is it. The colors and the expression are amazing."

He dragged the image into his desktop and then remembered there was one last photo on the camera.

Returning to the previous window, he opened up the last file. He scanned the image quickly and noticed the jewelry she has holding was more visible in this shot.

Feeling like it was a slight violation of her privacy, he hesitated before zooming into the image.

"It's a locket!" He chimed, "There's a picture in there..."

He zoomed in further until the image became slightly pixelated and finally recognized the figure in the locket.

His eyes grew wide and the apple slipped out of his hand into his lap.

"It's...me?"

 **Moonlight:** Whooo. That was longer than I expected this to be. This is my first Hey Arnold! Story, so please review and let me know what you think so far! :)


	2. Feelings In The Image

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hey Arnold! The events of "Hey Arnold! The Movie" never happened in this timeline.

 **The Picture  
Feelings In The Image**

 **By Moonlight**

"It's…me."

Arnold stared intently at the screen. Confusion set in and he didn't know what to make of the new discovery he'd just made. It wasn't his imagination. He had made sure of this by minimizing and maximizing the window several times.

Why did Helga, the girl who treated him terribly, have a locket with HIS picture in it? It just didn't make sense to him. Helga HATED him. But her expression was soft and genuine looking. The only thing he could think to do was tell Gerald. He had always known how to make sense out of even the most complicated situations.

Quickly, he ran down to the main hallway of the boarding house and picked up the phone to dial his best friend's number. A sweet feminine voice answered the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Hey Timberly. Is Gerald there?" he asked with a little panic in his voice.

"Oh, Arnold! Gerald is busy at the mome-" her voice was cut off by what sounded like some hectic movement on her end.

Gerald spoke loudly into the phone "I'm right here. Timberly, I TOLD you to just pass me the phone! Don't speak for me!"

Arnold could hear some whining from the little girl before Gerald redirected his attention to the phone, "Hey man. What's up?"

"Gerald! Look, I need you to come to my place."

"Right NOW? But it's almost dinner time."

"You can eat here. Just, please, come over."

"Sure—" Gerald started, before pausing for a moment, "Wait a minute. Is your grandma cooking?"

Arnold groaned, "Gerald…"

"Okay! Okay! I'll be right there." He finally surrendered and hung up the phone to run out the door.

Back in his room, Arnold was once again analyzing the picture. He recognized that locket from somewhere. It almost looked like the one grandma had given his grandpa for their anniversary.

"Come to think of it, that locket disappeared…"

Did Helga find it and keep it? He didn't really think she was the type to steal anything.

His bedroom door opened and Gerald burst in, panting from the running he had just done.

"I'm here!" he coughed a bit, "What's the emergency?"

Arnold jumped out of his chair and handed his friend a bottle of water he had sitting on his desk. Without a word, he motioned to his computer screen. Gerald eyed the screen briefly before taking a long drink out of the bottle and tossing the empty container into the nearby trash bin.

"It's a picture of you." He said. A slightly annoyed tone accompanying his response.

Arnold sighed and pulled his friend closer to the computer, "Of course it's me! But look, it's a locket with my picture in it."

"So? Get to the point."

"Gerald, you're not going to believe me, but I was taking pictures for our assignment at the park and I ran into Helga so—"

"Helga?" Gerald cut him off with a raised eyebrow.

Arnold zoomed out of the image and watched the expression on his friend's face change. He motioned for Gerald to sit down in front of the computer in order for him to analyze the picture as he had done so already.

"Mmm-mmm-MMM!" he hummed as he so usually did when he was in disbelief, "Arnold."

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you didn't edit this picture to mess with me?"

"Gerald…"

"I'm kidding, man. But look. I have NEVER seen Helga make that face before."

Arnold was practically on his toes, "Exactly! So what does it MEAN, Gerald?" He didn't want to admit what he thought it was before his friend could confirm his…fears? Was it fear he felt?

Zooming in and out of the image a few more times, Gerald spun around in the chair to face Arnold, "Man. I never thought I'd say this, but I THINK, judging by the look on her face, I'd say Helga was in love with you."

He could feel his toes becoming numb. Stumbling backwards, Arnold found the couch and plopped down onto it. Helga… in LOVE with HIM… of all people. He just couldn't believe that it was even a possibility. But Gerald was right. Her expression was very straight-forward. The way she looked at the locket, so serene. He couldn't help but think she looked lovely with that smile.

"I feel for you, man." Gerald started, "But yet again, I don't think she realizes that you won't ever even like her. I mean. She's HELGA. I almost feel sorry for her."

His heart sank. Although he didn't like her much, he felt bad. Gerald was right, she has always teased him and targeted her anger at him. But Arnold knew what it felt like to really like someone and not have that person return your feelings. He had experienced it with Lila—

Feeling even worse, he remembered what he had said to Helga back then.

" _It's funny, when you like someone, and they don't really like you back, it's not so bad. But when you really 'like' them like them, but you find out they just like you, it hurts. Have you ever felt that way about someone, Helga?"_

He remembered the sad expression on her face when he said that and it finally dawned on him why she looked as if someone tore her heart out. He had thought she was just sharing his pain of being rejected by Lila, but now it all made sense.

"Gerald… if she really does feel that way, then why does she treat me so badly?"

"I dunno, man. I know it's going to be kind of hard, because it's SO dang creepy, but maybe you should just ignore this. I mean, she's just going to continue to treat you badly an—" Gerald stopped and an idea occurred to him, "—Unless…"

Arnold perked up.

"Unless you use it to your advantage!"

"What do you mean?"

"I MEAN, you can be super nice to her and give her gifts or something so she stops using you as a punching bag."

Arnold's eyes narrowed, "You mean… like flirting?"

Gerald cringed, "Ummm, yes. But please don't overdo it. You don't want to make her think you like her that way. Things would get too messy."

"Right." He agreed and opened his door to lead Gerald down to the dining room for dinner. "You know, Gerald, this might not be such a bad idea." Although he didn't particularly like to take advantage of people's feelings, maybe some good could come out of it.

The room was dimly lit, with the only light source being the computer screen before her. Helga yawned loudly as she opened the file of the picture Arnold had taken of her that afternoon.

"Let's see if it's any good." She said to herself drowsily. She had spent her evening reading comic books and drowning out the sound of Bob yelling at the TV.

A light flashed across her screen as the image loaded and filled the monitor.

She had to do a double take, because she didn't believe what she saw.

"Wh…what is this…?"

The picture Arnold had taken was not of Helga's bow, as she had requested. Her own face stared back at her, but it wasn't the usual scowl that she always dawned in pictures. Instead, rosy cheeks on a somewhat shy-looking Helga could be seen.

She had never really noticed how much of an impact he could make on her.

"Well, he did get the bow in there… I have to do something to thank him. I treated him terribly and he took such a lovely picture. Captured my vulnerability. Oh, Arnold. I can't take credit for this, like I was planning to." She didn't even check out a tripod, so saying she took it, she would have been found out anyway. "I'll have to tell Mr. Simmons he took the picture, but… I can't let anyone in class see it…" she yawned again.

With that, she moved over to her bed and let sleep take over.

 **Moonlight:** Thank you for your support so far


	3. Re-Shoot

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hey Arnold! The events of Hey Arnold! The Movie did not take place in this timeline.

 **The Picture  
Re-Shoot**

 **By Moonlight**

It was quiet, except for the talk of curriculum from a few teachers walking back to their classrooms. Their morning coffee from the teacher's lounge in hand. Helga quickly made her way down the halls and to her classroom to find Mr. Simmons looking over some paperwork at is desk.

She glanced around the room to make sure no one else was around and closed the door behind her.

"Helga!" Mr. Simmons exclaimed happily, "You're… so early today. That's unusual."

The girl walked over and set her camera on his desk, "Yes. Well, here's the thing." She started in her usual, angry-girl tone, "I tried SO HARD to get good shots of my bow-"

"Your bow?" he questioned, somewhat confused.

"Yes. For the assignment. I picked my bow."

"Oh!"

She continued, "But since it's on my HEAD… NONE of the pictures I took turned out right."

Mr. Simmons hooked up her camera to the computer on his desk as she talked and pulled up her photos.

"So I had someone else take the picture for me, and it turned out MUCH better than me doing it myself. SO I was hoping you could give that person the credit for my project." She finished and relaxed herself at the nearby desk.

He looked through her images, "Oh, I see… It is hard to get a good angle on that object. Oh!" he chirped as he came upon the last image, "You're right, that looks great! But you didn't take it."

"That's why I'm saying. Give Arnold the credit for my project."

"Arnold took this?"

Helga could feel her face burning in embarrassment. She sunk into her chair and tried to cover her face with the comic book she had brought with her. "Y-yeah."

He frowned, "Well, since you didn't take this, and I can only give credit for one project, you'll have to take another one. I'll give you an extension."

"But I can't get a picture of this stinking thing!" she pointed to her bow.

Setting the camera on the desk in front of her, he thought it over, "Hmm… Oh! I know!"

Helga raised her eyebrow.

"You could take a picture of Arnold, as a thank you, and use it as your assignment."

A blush filled her cheeks once again. Well, she did need an up-to-date picture for her locket. Maybe it was a good idea. She shook her head, "That's the DUMBEST idea ever." She scowled and added, "But okay. It'll be simple enough."

She walked over to the back of the room to set her comic book and camera on her desk and started for the door. Before she could leave, Simmons spoke up, "You know." He said eyeing Arnold's creation that he had saved on his computer with some of the others that have been emailed, "It's too bad no one can get credit for this, but it's such a nice photo of you, Helga. You're showing a side of you that not many people get to see."

"S-so? What's your point?"

"I want to print this and put it up with the rest of the assignments, if that's okay with you?"

Helga panicked, "N-no!" she flung her hands in front of her and waved them frantically, "No one should see that picture. NO ONE! Got it?"

"O-okay, Helga. I won't put it up." He responded with a slightly shaky voice.

With that Helga made her way to the restrooms. If she was going to get a good picture out of him, she was going to have to be 'nice'… "Alright, Helga. Let's put on your good face and TRY to NOT be a complete jerk." She said to herself as she pushed the door to the girl's restroom.

Arnold walked slowly to the classroom. All the while thinking about how he was going to make this plan work. Not to mention the consequences of what might happen if this whole thing were to backfire.

He turned to give Gerald a nervous smile before walking to his seat.

"Relax, man." Said the dark haired boy sitting next to him, "Trust me! This plan is perfect. She'll stop making your life a living nightmare."

Nodding, Arnold still couldn't help but feel bad for Helga. He was going to be _using_ her.

Gerald's voice snapped Arnold out of his thoughts, "Quick! Here she comes." He said, opening a textbook to cover his face.

Helga returned to her seat after a long talk with herself in the mirror of the girl's restroom. Opening her comic book, she looked up to spot Arnold watching her. "Huh?"

He got up and walked towards her.

 _Helga, this is your chance. Be NICE to him. Ready?_ She thought to herself and opened her mouth, "What do YOU want, Arnoldo?" Mentally smacking herself in the face, she shook her head, "I mean…wh-what's do you need?" _THERE you go. Way to messed up right off the bat, though. CRIMINY!_

"I was just wondering if you wanted to join Gerald and I at the arcade this afternoon." He asked as friendly as he usually does.

 _What is this? My love is actually inviting me somewhere? What fate~!_ She held in a swoon and responded as kindly as possible,"Sounds good, football-head, but you're buying."

He grinned, "Great. We'll wait for you after class." With that, he walked back to his desk and started talking to Gerald.

"This is perfect," Helga said to herself, "I can get a picture of him and WORK on being…'nice'…"

An annoying voice chimed in from behind her, "So Helga. Where's your picture?"

Helga turned to see Rhonda with her hands on her hips and her head very delicately cocked to the side. Nadine came up to stand next to her with her camera in hand.

"Want to see my collection?" Nadine asked happily and held up her camera for the other two girls to see the picture of a cluster of 'rolly-polly' bugs, "The armadillidiidae are such fantastic specimen."

"Eeew!" Rhonda squeaked, "Nadine. That's disgusting."

Helga laughed at her expression.

Returning her attention to Helga, Rhonda asked again, "Where's the picture of your ego, Helga?"

"For your information, PRINCESS, I haven't finished my assignment yet." She answered quickly and turned to stare at her comic book.

"Ha! I guess we'll just have to see it when it goes on the wall on Friday." She turned to walk back to her desk.

"Tough luck," Helga said to the retreating Rhonda, "It's not GOING on the wall."

Mr. Simmons' voice chimed in and began announcing the plans for the day. Helga faced forward and let her eyes fall on the back of Arnold's head, as she usually did. "I'll make sure to take the best picture of you." She spoke softly.

 **Moonlight:** Once again, thank you for your reviews and support! For some reason they aren't showing up on the page, but I have been getting them in my email and appreciate them all.


	4. Talk Over Hockey

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hey Arnold! The events of Hey Arnold! The Movie did not happen in this timeline.

 **The Picture  
Talk Over Hockey**

 **By Moonlight**

School let out as soon as it started, or so it felt that way. Students collected their belongings and began filing out of the classroom. Helga did the same and headed for the front of the room. Rhonda shot her look and a "Can't wait to see your _ego_ "before exiting.

Helga growled. Could that girl just DROP it?

"Hey. Ready to go?" Arnold and Gerald were waiting outside the room.

"Yyyep!"

They started walking towards the school entrance and Arnold noticed the camera in Helga's hand. "You didn't turn in your camera, Helga. Want me to run in back for you?"

She glanced at it quickly and pushed the door open, "Nah. Simmons said the picture you took for me wouldn't work, but that he'd give me another day to take another one."

Gerald's eyes went wide "Wait you showed her the—"

He was cut short by Arnold's sudden nudge. "I took a picture of her bow for her assignment, but I guess the assignment was for us to take a picture ourselves."

"Ohhh. So she asked you to take her picture?"

Helga spoke up, somewhat annoyed, "Yes, because I couldn't take a picture of the top of my head by myself. Okay! Let's go!" he headed off before them in the direction of the arcade.

As they approached the front door, which was covered in small posters advertising some events and new games, Gerald let out an exasperated sigh.

"What's wrong, Gerald?"

"It's Tuesday. I need to pick Timberly up, because Jamie-O has wrestling practice."

Arnold gave him a defeated look, "That's okay, Gerald. Maybe we can do this another time?"

"No way! We're already here." Helga piped up, "Sorry you can't join us, Geraldo. Come on, football-head. I've got my eye on that open air hockey table."

Gerald leaned in towards Arnold and gave him a quick wink, "You'll be fine. Just remember not to go overboard, alright? Once this is over, she'll leave you alone." With that, they did their special handshake and said their goodbyes.

Arnold followed Helga into the arcade and proceeded to stuff some bills into the change machine. He turned to find her standing at the air hockey table, fiddling with her camera.

"Here Helga," he said, handing her half of the quarters he obtained.

"Ready to get your butt kicked?" she laughed and set the camera down to insert a coin into the slot on the table. Setting down the puck and sliding her paddle at it in one swift motion, she made her first score against the boy before her. "See that? You barely even had a chance to move!"

Arnold pulled the puck out of the slot in front of him and set it on the table once more, "So are you going to take another picture of your bow?" he asked, trying to make some small talk as they played.

"Nah. It's too hard to get a picture of that thing. Simmons told me to try something else." She blushed a bit through her determined expression, remembering Mr. Simmons' suggestion of taking Arnold's picture. She wondered if she could keep him from posting it on the wall with the rest of the class' photos.

Making a shot into Helga's side, Arnold mentally cheered for himself, "What are going to photograph, then?"

She hesitated a bit, "He told me that I should take a picture of you as a 'thank you' for helping me before." She said as she set the puck down and scored again.

"Of me?"

"That's what he said."

Arnold reached into the slot for the puck, but it didn't seem to have come out. "Our time is up." He said and set the paddle in its holder. "Are you going to do that?" he asked, returning to their conversation.

Helga picked up the camera and looked over to him, "I-uh…N-no! Why would I want a picture of YOU, anyway?!" she said, the anger hiding her embarrassment.

He watched as her facial expression changed, but caught the blush that she couldn't hide, and smiled. "It's okay, Helga."

"W-what?"

He walked over to her and motioned her to turn on the camera, "I want you to take a picture of me." He said with a grin. He watched as her cheeks turned bright red and couldn't help but adore the sight of it. Seeing this vulnerable side of Helga had always brought him joy. And now, knowing that he had cause her to feel this way, made him feel…special?

"If that's what you WANT, football-head. It definitely makes MY life easier." Fumbling with the camera, she mentally warned herself to calm down. But it was always that smile of his that made her feel butterflies. She couldn't help but feel flustered at the sight of it. Finally, she managed to turn it on.

Arnold moved to a place with good lighting and looked in Helga's direction, "I'm ready" he said.

"Yeah, yeah." She responded, aiming the camera and trying to find a good position. He smiled again and Helga's heart did a backflip, "oh~" she swooned quietly. _There it is… the perfect smile. And now I can capture it._

Click.

She turned the device around to check the display.

"How'd it turn out?" Arnold asked as he walked over to her.

"It's beautiful…" she said without thinking.

"What?"

Realizing what she'd done, she tried to correct herself, "…If you like FOOTBALL-HEADS!" she forced a laugh.

But Arnold had heard her and smiled at the comment. This wasn't so bad, he thought. She was already acting differently than she usually does. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all, he thought. "I like it!" He said, looking at the picture, "You're a good photographer, Helga"

"Pshh. Yeah, I guess I am. When I'm not trying to take pictures of the top of my head, I mean." She let a small laugh pass her lips.

"I've got an idea!" Arnold snatched the camera out of her hands and got close to her, turning the camera around to face them. "Ready?"

"Oh!" Realizing what he was doing, she repositioned herself. Being so close to Arnold caused her to dawn a genuine smile.

Click.

Helga felt like a piece of her left when he stepped away from her to check the image on the display. What was going on? _Why is he being so… chummy all of a sudden?_ She wondered. It wasn't like him to get so close to her, save for the few times he embraced her for being nice in the past.

"H-how'd it turn out, Arnold?"

His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What? Is it THAT bad?"

"No. It's just," he started, "You called me by my name."

Once again, she felt he cheeks burn, "So? I've done it before."

He shook his head and smiled, "Nevermind." Holding up the camera for her to see, he finally responded, "It looks great."

Helga took the camera in her hands and stared at the image in awe.

 _That's it!_ Arnold thought, _That's the same look she had in the picture I took!_

His smile slowly fading, he wondered what she would do—how she would feel if he were to reject her. _I guess Gerald was right… Helga does… love me…_

"Hey football-head. Are we going to keep playing, or what?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, he noticed Helga had moved towards some of the other games and followed her.

They played until it got dark and finally decided to head home.

"Boy, did Geraldo miss a good time." Helga laughed as they walked towards her front door.

"Yeah. I bet he would have beaten you at the hoops, though." He stopped at the bottom of the steps and watched as she put her hand on the doorknob. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, Helga."

She turned to face him, a scowl threatening to befall her, but she managed a smile. "Thanks for walking me home… again."

He nodded and continued in the direction of the boarding house, feeling like the afternoon went pretty well.

Things were pretty lively that night at the house. Grandpa was playing cards with some of the other boarders and Grandma was, once again, dancing around in yet another odd outfit.

"Hey Shortman! Where've you been?"

"I was at the arcade, Grandpa." Arnold waved at him and the rest of the group he was with before walking over to the phone.

It had only rung once before Gerald picked up. He must have been waiting for him to call. "Arnold! 'Bout tiiiime! I was starting to think things had gone terribly wrong. How did it go?"

Arnold sunk to the floor to sit down, "Things went… really well, actually."

"You didn't do anything th—"

"No, Gerald. I did a little flirting, but that's it."

"Great. Just make sure you keep it at a minimum."

Arnold sighed, "You know, maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"You keep saying that, but you know it's going to be good for you."

"But what about her?" he said, somewhat surprising himself, "I feel like she's so vulnerable after seeing her like this."

"That's a good thing."

"I feel like I could break her if I make a wrong move, Gerald."

"That's. A. Good. Thing." Gerald stressed again, "It's for your benefit."

Arnold stood up and leaned against the table the phone base sat on, "I'm going to need some more time to think about this, Gerald. I'll see you tomorrow." He said and hung up the phone so he could walk up to his room.

Helga, copied the pictures to her desktop and unplugged the camera. They really did look great. She absolutely loved how close they were. How she wished they would always be that way.

"Maybe…someday." She yawned and fell asleep at her desk.

 **Moonlight:** I'll be returning to work tomorrow, so my updates from here will be scattered. Just a heads up Thank you so much for the reviews and follows! It means a lot to me that you enjoy this.


	5. Lonely

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hey Arnold! The events of Hey Arnold! The Movie did not take place in this timeline.

 **The Picture  
Lonely**

 **By Moonlight**

The sound of the radio filled the room and Arnold sat up in bed to stretch. Silencing the alarm, he yawned and slowly opened his eyes. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, as he had stayed up, analyzing the picture for the hundredth time and reevaluating his morals. Even though Gerald had been right about his plan, Arnold didn't want to hurt anyone. Even Helga, who had on several occasions, done things to hurt him. He didn't want to be that person.

When he had thought he blinded her before, it hurt him more than he ever imagined, even though it turned out to be an April fool's joke. Cruel as it may have been.

Thinking back to their time at the arcade, he had to admit, he really enjoyed her company. He wondered if there were a way to grow closer to her, and show Helga that she had a good friend in him. It would be the only way to comfort her without rejecting her feelings, he thought.

"I know," he said to himself, "I'll see if she wants to hang out again today." He needed to prove to her that she didn't need to hide behind her angry façade, when he knew she was a better person than she let on.

He hopped out of bed and prepared for the day.

"Wow, Helga! Great job." Mr. Simmons was thrilled to see the photo she brought in, "I'll add this to the collection of other assignments." He smiled.

She turned to walk to her desk before he spoke again.

"Oh! This one is nice too!"

He must be looking at the one Arnold took. "It really captures the bond between you two."

"B-bond…?" she blushed, still turned away from her teacher.

Simmons hummed to himself and walked out of the room to return Helga's camera.

"Bond…" she repeated as she sunk into her chair.

Boy was he wrong. The only 'bond' she and Arnold had was a very…very loose 'friendship', if you would even call it that. But what Helga obviously wanted was much, much more. She noticed that he was much more friendly than usual. _This is good… I mean, if I can manage to be…nicer… I could get closer to him…_ She thought to herself.

A hand lightly slapped the desk in front of Helga. Purple nail polish.

"So let's see it." Rhonda said tauntingly.

 _Sheeesh! Get off my BACK!_

Helga inhaled, "No."

"No? You DID do the assignment, right?"

"Of COURSE I did. But I'm NOT showing YOU." Helga shuffled in her seat to pull out her comic book in order to shun her.

Rhonda scoffed and walked to her desk.

The rest of the students finally shuffled into the room. Helga looked at the clock to confirm class was starting soon. She watched Stinky and Sid walk in with a water balloon. "Huh. Wonder what they're gonna do with THAT."

"Hey Helga."

Startled, she looked up "A-arnold!" She straightened herself up and tried to fight of a scowl.

The boy sent down a small piece of paper in front of her, "I got us tickets to the baseball game this weekend. I hope you'll come?" he asked, thinking he worded his invitation strangely.

Picking up the ticket, she tired her best to respond politely, "S-sure…Arnold. I'd… love to go with you." A smile played on her lips and he reciprocated the expression.

"Great! It'll be fun." He walked back to his desk.

She looked over the ticket and smiled. Though, it was still odd to her how he was acting. It was definitely not his normal amount of 'friendliness'. I mean, buying her a ticket to a game? He's never done that for anyone but Gerald. What's was going on?

The bell rang and everyone began to head out for the cafeteria. Helga opened up her lunch box and sighed. A protein drink, some crackers, and a… spoon? _Criminy! What is Miriam DOING?_

Things were getting worse around her house. Bob was becoming more violent towards Miriam that Helga was starting to fear the man. The very thought of home sent a feeling of a spear going through her stomach.

She groaned.

"Great." Closing the box, she noticed Arnold and Gerald had been watching her. "Oh... Hey."

Arnold had caught sight of the contents of her lunchbox and walked towards her, "We can share my food, if you want. I have more than enough." He motioned to the container in his hand.

"I…" she started, then quickly shook her head, "W-what's WITH you all of a sudden?"

"Huh?" Gerald backed away a few steps.

She continued, "I mean, you're inviting me places, buying me tickets and now you're giving me your LUNCH?" pausing to check his expression, she stood up. "I don't get you."

He felt like the plan was already backfiring and shot Gerald a look before responding, "I-I just thought that maybe you needed to be around someone. You've been really… lonely lately, I've noticed. With Phoebe being on vacation and everything…"

A light feeling came over her. He was right. She had been lonely… With her family being as distant as ever, and Phoebe being gone, it had left her with no outlet. It had been hard and the girl wouldn't be back from her vacation until next week. "Fine! …I'll join you. Thanks."

They walked out of the room and towards the cafeteria.

 **Moonlight:** Okay, so that was short, but I really wanted to write something, and since my evening job was canceled, I thought it was the perfect chance. Haha~ I'll try to write a lengthier chapter next, though!


	6. Worthless

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hey Arnold! The events of Hey Arnold! The Movie did not take place in this timeline.

 **The Picture  
Worthless**

 **By Moonlight**

The cafeteria was loud, as it filled with students lining up for their food or fumbling with their lunchboxes and trays. The three made their way to a table and joined Sid and Stinky.

Arnold greeted the two, opened up his lunchbox, and handed Helga half of his sandwich. Hesitant at first, she accepted the food and began eating.

"Willikers!" Stinky exclaimed. "Why, that looks like a mighty good sandwich. Mind if I try a bite?"

"Forget it, Stinko, this is MY lunch."

Gerald raised an eyebrow at how protective Helga was over a pb&j. He stood up and walked over to the lunch line.

Helga turned to face Arnold and reminded herself to be 'nice'. "Thanks."

He handed her a pudding cup, "For what?"

"…THAT." She pointed to the pudding, "…and THIS." She said, holding up the sandwich.

Arnold smiled her direction before focusing on his own food, "It's nothing, really. I didn't want you to starve today."

Remembering the sad excuse for a 'lunch' she had, she felt really happy that someone had cared enough about her to help. And for that person to have been Arnold… well, that was like a dream come true.

"Stinky, are you prepared for this afternoon?" Sid asked.

"As prepared as I'll ever be!"

Arnold perked up, "For what?"

A smile shone on Sid's freckled face, "Water balloon." He said simply.

Helga remembered seeing the two of them with one earlier that day. Still curious, she decided to see what they were up to.

"What do you suppose you'll be doing with that, anyway?"

Stinky tried hard not to laugh, "We're going to throw it at Principal Wartz after school today."

"Why?"

"He gave us detention last week." Sid responded, somewhat angry.

Arnold looked at the two with disappointment, "Won't that get you detention THIS week too?"

They looked at each other as if they were clueless and shrugged, "Either way, it'll be great!" Stinky laughed and finished his lunch.

Helga rolled her eyes.

Things were rather normal the rest of the day. Rhonda continued to shoot her some interesting looks and she dismissed her every time. Class had gotten out a bit early as Simmons had to run out to some conference, so Helga, Arnold and Gerald wandered the halls of PS 118, headed down to the playground to hang out for a while.

As they passed Principal Wartz's office, they couldn't help but stop at the sound of what seemed to be an argument.

"No need to yell, Mr. Pataki. I-I'm just trying to figu—" Mr. Simmons trembled under the intimidation of the man towering over him.

"You cut into a sale I was in the middle of for THIS?" Bob was furious.

Wartz's voice was calm, yet forceful, "Mr. Pataki, this is a very important matter. You have avoided three conferences with Mr. Simmons over here. Three important conferences about your daughter that you refused to attend. And now, I hear that you're not even signing the homework that's being sent out weekly."

Bob slammed his hands down onto the desk, "Because it's NOT important! I'm busy trying to run my beeper empire. I DON'T have time for this!"

Simmons straightened himself out a bit to try and seem tough, "How DARE you say Helga's not important. Sh-she is a WONDERFUL student, and you should be proud and concerned for her, like a REAL parent!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Bob raised his voice and sent the man back to cower behind the principal.

 _What is this…?_ Helga thought. _Why is he here? What's going on…?!_

"You're NOT a REAL parent!" Simmons repeated.

"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOUR'D CALL ME HERE TO TREAT ME THIS WAY!" Bob yelled.

Arnold and Gerald listened in surprise and watched as Helga's eyes welled up with tears.

She had had enough.

"Helga, wha—" Arnold watched as she flung the door open.

Quickly scanning the small office, Helga planted her feet in the floor and looked up at her father with the angriest glare she could manage.

"I see." She said, "I'm not important?"

The three men watched her in surprise.

She continued, "So what? Is your BEEPER EMPIRE more important than your own DAUGHTER?! Is THAT what you THINK?!"

Bob was speechless, as he'd never seen Helga this way.

"FINE! Don't expect to see me again. EVER!" she yelled and turned to run to the front doors of the building, leaving the three men stunned and confused. Arnold chased after her with Gerald on his tail.

"Helga! Wait!"

She pushed the doors as hard as she could and started down the steps.

Splash!

"Hey, that's not Principal Wartz!" Sid exclaimed in panic when he noticed who he'd hit with the water balloon.

But to his surprise, Helga didn't move. She stood there, her head hung. Water dripping from her hair and face. Fists at her sides. She appeared to tremble. Arnold approached her slowly, placing a hand on her shoulder in hopes of comforting her in any way.

She shook him off, and turned to face him. The tears that poured down her cheeks, camouflaged with the water from the balloon. "Arnold."

She spoke softly, and he nodded in response.

"Do you mind… if I stayed in the boarding house for a while?" her speech was shaky from trying not to sob, but at soon as Arnold gave her the okay, she gave in. Her crying was quiet, but powerful, as it made her whole being tremble.

Arnold didn't know what else to do, but embrace her briefly before walking her to Sunset Arms. Gerald waved goodbye after walking with them and headed home.

He showed her to a room after explaining the events to his grandpa. Helga dried her hair with a towel he'd lent her and sat on the edge of the bed. Her head still hung, so as not to show Arnold her now swollen eyes.

"Helga. I'm sorry… I didn't know your family was—"

"Broken? Dysfunctional? Hopeless?" she listed off the best words she could use to describe her 'family'. She never did feel like she had a real family. A real family would have taken care of her. Looked after her when she was a small child and continued to encourage her as she matured. But Bob and Miriam never gave a crap about her. She was an unwanted child to them. Her sister, Olga, was the only one they praised. She could feel more tears stinging her eyes, but held them back.

Arnold walked over and sat down next to her. He didn't know what to say to her. What to do in this sort of situation, as he could only imagine how she was feeling right now.

"Look. I know…" he paused to think about his words, "…things are a little rough right now, but… I'm sure everything will be alright. You'll be back home with your parents in no time and—"

"Why do you always do this?" she asked, he voice full of pain, "There's no 'bright side' to this, football-head. They're not REAL parents, just like Simmons said…. They never cared about me. They barely even knew I existed. Just like everyone else. I'd be better off dead."

He took hold of her shoulders and made her face him, "DON'T say that." His expression was hurt, "People DO care about you, Helga. And even if your parents don't, you will always have those who do."

Tears began to fall again, "But Phoebe is still gone… I can't run to her like I always have…"

"You can run to me, Helga." He said softly as he wiped a tear from her cheek.

Without thinking, she flung her arms around him and buried her face in his shirt. _This is it, Helga… Tell him now, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life._ She thought, swallowing hard and breathing deeply.

"Arnold…" she said in a half-whisper.

He embraced her loosely, "Yes?"

Tightening her grip on him she finally let the words, which she swore never to tell, almost seamlessly slip from her lips.

"Arnold… I love you."

 **Moonlight:** I can't seem to stay away from working on this... Thank you for your reviews! They mean a lot to me!  
I'm going to do some shameless advertising and invite you to check out my youtube channel. I'm a much better vocalist than a writer, so I would love it if you could check it out! OwO/  
YTChannel: KurochiMisa


	7. Best Friend

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hey Arnold! The events of Hey Arnold! The Movie did not take place in this timeline.

 **The Picture  
** **Best Friend**

 **By Moonlight**

Arnold braced himself. He felt terrified. Not because of her confession, but because he didn't want to hurt her. Helga had already been dealing with a great amount of pain within her family, that he didn't want to be the one to push the knife in further.

They sat there, quiet, in each other's arms for what seemed like an eternity. The soft sobs from Helga slowly lowering in volume until becoming only sniffles.

He inhaled deeply and tightened his grip on her slightly.

Helga felt her heart skip a beat.

"I know."

He spoke so softly, almost a whisper.

Helga's eyes widened, and in a panic, she backed away from him enough to look him in the eyes. The tears she'd been crying causing her vision to blur, but she could make out the look on his face. Worried. Unsure. Concerned. All wrapped up in one beautiful face.

She trembled as she spoke, "Y…y-you… know?"

He nodded in response.

"Why…?" Helga felt like she had a knot in her throat, as the words couldn't make their way out. _Why didn't you tell me?_

"I do…" he took her by the shoulders and gently pushed her away so he could stand up. "…and I'm sorry, Helga…"

At that moment, her body felt completely numb. Her eyes locked on his. Her mind devoid of how to feel. For a few moments, all she could hear was the clock ticking in the background.

"Bu-but I thought…" she managed to speak, "…you…why did you…?"

He clenched his fists in anger. Not at Helga. Anger at himself for leading her on. For taking advantage of her. For destroying the little bit of happiness she could have had.

"I'm sorry." He repeated.

She raised her voice slightly, sounding desperate, "But Arnold… You're all I have. I've never told you, but you…!" she felt completely broken, "…you were what kept me going through this messed up life…!"

He didn't want to listen. He didn't want to hear about how he'd screwed up. How he hurt her. How he's HURTING her.

"You're the only person…" she paused as a vision to their preschool days flashed through her mind, "… they only person who noticed me… I feel terrible for treating you the way I have… I've been afraid… afraid I'll lose the one thing left in my life that has meaning and I—"

He turned away from her and headed towards the door, "I'm sorry, Helga." He said once more, and left the broken girl to rethink her life completely.

Helga awoke in a daze. Her eyes swollen from crying herself to sleep. She glanced around the room and remembered where she was.

Arnold's words rang through her head. _I'm sorry._

She never thought the day would come when she would lose the most precious person in her life.

Refusing to sit up, she rolled onto her side and decided she wouldn't leave this room until Phoebe returned home. Phoebe was the only one she wanted to see. She wanted to throw herself at the girl.

Pulling out the ticket Arnold had given her the day before, she felt a hard, stabbing pain in her heart.

Rip.

She left the pieces fall to the floor beside the bed.

Arnold slowly made his way to the school building. He had a hard time making it out of bed and debated staying home after the events of the night before. What had he done? Why did he even agree to do this to her? His mind flashed images of the pain in eyes, and it made him hate himself. Detest himself.

"Hey Arnold."

He turned to see Gerald. A concerned look on his face.

"I tried calling you over and over, but your grandma kept saying you were fighting a tiger or something like that."

Arnold would normally have laughed at his grandmother's shenanigans, but he couldn't feel anything except hurt. He sighed, "I'm sorry, Gerald… Things… got out of hand last night…"

Gerald walked beside his friend, noticing how different he was acting. "Arnold. Stop." He said, moving to stand in front of him, causing Arnold to stop in his tracks. "Tell me what happened yesterday."

"We made a huge mistake."

"What do you mean?"

He raised his voice, "Gerald. I led her on, because of our 'plan', and now… I… I'm going to class."

Leaving his friend behind, Arnold walked into the building.

"Arnold!" Simmons exclaimed as the boy walked into the classroom, "I printed your photo for the wall, but I wanted you to check it before I framed it." He handed over the glossy paper and waited for a confirmation.

Eyeing the photo, he felt his heart tighten up. The Helga in the picture was so serene, so happy. It broke him. Tore him up piece by piece. His hands shook.

"Arnold. Are you alright?"

He snapped back and turned towards his teacher, "Yeah, Mr. Simmons… it looks… beautiful. Could I keep this copy?"

"Of course. I-I'll print another one for the wall, then!"

Arnold walked to his desk and slid the photo into his textbook.

Gerald finally sat down and looked over at his friend in concern. He wanted to say something, but didn't know what help he could be.

The two sat in silence as the rest of the class trickled in. Gossip and discussion filling the air.

"Class! Settle down! I want to go over chapter 12 from your science books."

A unison groan filled the room.

Helga sat up in bed, her head a bit dizzy. She needed a shower, but was in no shape to venture the halls of the boarding house.

With nothing left to do, she forced herself to look out the window. She watched as a few pedestrians pass by. And it started to get boring really fast, until she spotted a familiar figure. A small girl with dark hair and a blue sweater.

"Phoebe…?" she questioned. _But Phoebe isn't supposed to be back for another 3 days…!_ She quickly opened the window and poked her head outside. "Phoebe!" she called out.

The small girl stopped mid stride and looked up, "Helga?"

"Phoebe! What are you doing here?" Helga felt a small smile hint at her lips. She sighed in relief of seeing her best friend's face.

"I'm home early, Helga. What are you doing in the boarding house…?"

Helga motioned for her to come up, and Phoebe ran into the building.

They sat on the bed, quiet at first, for Phoebe had noticed the redness and puffy eyes.

"I…" Helga started, "…I told Bob I wasn't going back home."

"Why's that?"

"He made it very clear that I didn't matter to him at all. And made it known in front of Simmons, Wartz, Gerald…and Arnold. And I, being the PERSON I AM, exploded at him… in front of all of them. So… I'm here… and… the worst part is…"

Phoebe noticed tears beginning to pool in her friend's eyes.

"Arnold… I… told him… everything, Phoebs…" she sniffled a few times before letting herself cry for the tenth time since the day before.

"I take it… it didn't go well…?"

"All he could say was 'I'm sorry, Helga'… Like THAT was supposed to make things better!"

"Oh no…Helga…" she put an arm around her friend, "I'm sorry I wasn't here..."

Helga leaned in to cry into Phoebe's shoulder.

Arnold looked over at the paper sticking out from in between the pages of his book. It mocked him. The fact that class was droning on and on didn't help.

Giving in, he pulled the picture out and looked it over. His eyes scanned the picture, but always returned to the smile on Helga's face. The locket held tightly against her. He wondered if he'd ever see her like that again.

He felt his chest tightened up once more. _What is this feeling?_ He thought. It felt as if his heart was going to burst out of him. Feeling a pair of eyes on him, he turned to see Gerald shooting him a concerned look.

Gerald's voice was nothing more than a whisper, so as to not disturb the rest of the class, "Are you going to be okay?"

"I… don't know." Arnold mimicked his friend's volume.

"You're scaring me, man. You've been staring at that picture like your life depends on it or something."

He sighed and set the photo face-down on his desk, "…I feel like… I need to do something…"

"Like…?"

"Something. Anything. I don't know!" his voice rose slightly with each word, and a few heads turned his way.

Gerald tore a sheet of paper form his notebook and scribbled something quickly before passing it to Arnold.

' _What do you want to do? What happened last night?'_

Arnold picked up his pencil to write below Gerald's message.

' _Helga poured herself out to me and I completely shut her down. I feel terrible. I want to do something for her, but I don't know what…'_

' _What?! You don't mean she CONFESSED, do you?'_

' _She did.'_

' _Don't worry about it. I mean, what can you do? How can you return feelings you don't have?'_

Arnold read the last sentence over and over before shoving the note paper and photo in his textbook.

Simmons excused the class as the final bell of the day rang. Gerald stood up and turned towards his friend. He watched as Arnold gathered his things and followed him out the door.

"Hey," he said, "If you're so concerned about doing something for her, why not give her something nice at the baseball game on Saturday?"

"…If she'll even go. I doubt she will at this point." Arnold stopped mid-stride and pulled the ticket out of his pocket, "Here" he said, handing Gerald the small piece of paper, "Take Jamie-O with you."

"But aren't you go—"

"Take it, Gerald. I don't want it to go to waste."

The dark-haired boy sadly accepted the ticket and tucked it into his pocket.

"I want to walk home on my own today, Gerald. I'll see you tomorrow." Arnold started towards home. His strides were slow-paced. His head was low, watching the cracks in the cement as he walked.

Finally, he was home. Ignoring the greetings from his grandparents and the boarders, he headed up the stairs and down the hallway, stopping for a moment outside of the room Helga was using. He wanted to see how she was doing, but he didn't even know how to face her. What to say to her or how she'd react. Instead, he went to his room and collapsed on his bed. His eyelids heavy.

It wasn't long before sleep took over.

Hours later, he awoke, feeling somewhat refreshed.

"Maybe I should check on her…" he said to himself as he stood up and walked out of his room, "…I wonder if she's hungry. That's it. I'll invite her to eat."

After knocking on her door a few times to no answer, he let himself in, but was surprised to find that she wasn't there. Suddenly remembering her words from the night before, he panicked.

" _I'd be better off dead."_

The words clearly resounding in his head as he hurried down the stairs, only to crash into his grandfather.

"Woah, Shortman! Where's the fire?"

He looked up at the old man, "Grandpa! Have you seen Helga?"

"You're little friend with the one eyebrow?"

"Did you see where she went?" his voice a little more aggressive than he wanted it to be.

Grandpa stood up straight and set a hand on his chin, "I seem to recall her leaving earlier today with a friend."

"A friend?"

"Yes. Black hair, glasses—"

"Phoebe!" he exclaimed, mainly for himself, as he ran for the door and out in the direction of the girl's house.

His knock was loud and frantic. Arnold had never felt more impatient in his entire life as he stood outside, waiting for someone to answer the door to where Helga might be.

"Arnold?" Phoebe stepped out from behind the door, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Helga. Is she with you?"

The girl shook her head, "I thought she had gone back to the boarding house."

A look of terror befell Arnold's face, "Phoebe. We need to find her. I'm afraid she might…"

 **Moonlight:** Hello again! …as I fall asleep on my tablet. Zzz… Heehee! Thanks for the Youtube subs~! And of course, for the reviews, follows, and faves!


	8. Realization

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hey Arnold! The events of Hey Arnold! The Movie did not take place in this timeline.

 **The Picture  
Realization**

 **By Moonlight**

The sun had finally set on the city. It had been hours since they had begun their search for the blonde girl in the pink dress. They had searched the whole city, they thought. No one had seen her. No one had heard from her. It was as if she'd vanished into thin air. They were tired. Arnold could barely feel his legs as he dragged himself down the sidewalk, only to stop at Phoebe's house once more. He had questioned if this girl really was Helga's best friend, for he saw she didn't reflect the amount of worry he was feeling for Helga.

Phoebe walked up the steps to her front door, "Arnold… Perhaps she just needs to be alone. Perhaps she will come back when time allows her to heal." There was doubt in her voice, but she smiled warmly.

Still determined, Arnold shook his head "I'll stay out all night if I have to, but I'm going to find her."

Pulling something out of her pocket, she walked back down the steps, "You seem to be worried an awful lot, for someone who you claim to not have feelings for."

Arnold gave her a dumbfounded look, "And you don't seem to be at all concerned for the girl you claim to be your best friend."

"I know Helga." She said, holding up the item to glance over it before handing it over to the boy, "And I know she isn't the type to give up. She's strong. Even though this is probably the most difficult situation of her life… I know she still has hope."

He took the item and was surprised to see the very locket Helga had been seen with in his hands. A heart-shaped, gold locket with his picture very carefully placed inside it. A soft sort of sadness overwhelmed him. His chest tightened. _There's that pain again… what is it…?_

"She told me to get rid of it for her." Phoebe spoke gently, "But I know that if she wanted it gone, she would have done it herself."

Arnold continued to stare at the locket as Phoebe said her goodnight and closed the door behind her. His hand gripped the small object tightly. His mind flashed to their time at the arcade. How happy she appeared to be when she took his picture. The thought caused his heart to pound.

 _Where are you, Helga…_

He convinced himself to make another round through the neighborhood and began running down the street. Passed Gerald Field. Passed the flower shop. His eyes darting down every alleyway, through every window.

Suddenly, it occurred to him…

There was a place they hadn't checked. Somewhere they completely overlooked… He turned in its direction and ran as fast as his sore legs could take him.

It was cold, she thought, as she leaned against the wooden wall. Helga shivered violently. Her hands were numb and her face flushed. She felt as if she were getting a fever.

Her mind was as blank as her eyes were dry.

"What… was I… thinking…?" she whispered to herself. Her voice trembling. "I should have… just left town…"

She had been in the tree house for hours. There was no better place to hide from it all than with Mighty Pete, she had thought. Though, now, it felt like a mistake. Sliding herself over to the entrance, she found a little strength left in her to climb down the tree and walk herself to the subway. A one-way ticket to nowhere sounded great to her.

"I'll just… go… Ride out of town… to somewhere… Anywhere that isn't… here…" she panted as she descended the ladder slowly.

Finally, she could feel the ground and found the energy to stand up straight. Wrapping her arms around herself as a shield from the cold, she began to walk towards the station before a familiar voice filled the air.

"Helga!"

She stopped dead in her stride, but didn't turn around to the source of the call. She didn't want to face it. She didn't want to face HIM.

Arnold walked towards the girl, slowly.

Helga wanted to run, but she couldn't find the strength to move. The cold made her feel frozen to her spot.

"Please…" She muttered, "Go away…"

But she could still hear his footsteps coming closer.

"I won't go back home. There's nothing left there for me." She grew anxious with every step, "Please, just… GO AWAY!"

She clenched her eyes shut, only to shoot them wide open at the feeling of warm arms wrapping around her from behind. His chest pressing tightly against her, providing her a haven from the cold.

"I'm not leaving." He said quietly.

Confused, she reached a cold, trembling hand to rest on his arm. Her heart began to race.

His breathing was labored from the running he had done, "I won't leave…" he repeated.

Helga felt herself melting in his arms, "…but you… you left me before…" she remembered crying herself to sleep the night before. How painful it felt to have been rejected by the person she worshiped her whole life.

"I was wrong, Helga."

Her heart felt like it stopped beating completely.

Arnold loosened his grip on her enough to turn her around to face him. His cheeks were bright red and his eyes twinkled in the moonlight. He could feel his heart, still pounding, loudly. Maybe she could hear it too.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the locket and watched her eyes widen.

"Here", he said, setting the item in her hand.

Helga glanced down at the locket she'd treasured for years. _How did you get this? I thought Phoebe threw it away…?_ She wanted to speak, but didn't have the chance to.

In one swift motion, Arnold pulled the girl towards him and brushed his lips gently against hers before pulling back and looking into her eyes.

"I was wrong, Helga." He said again, "I think… I'm in love with you."

 **Moonlight:** Okay. So this was short again. Buuuut I didn't feel like dragging it on too longggg. I had to shave it down to the nitty gritty.


	9. The Pictures

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hey Arnold! The events of Hey Arnold! The Movie did not take place in this timeline.

 **The Pictures**

 **By Moonlight**

 _There was a place they hadn't checked. Somewhere they completely overlooked… He turned in its direction and ran as fast as his sore legs could take him._

 _He could hear his footsteps echoing loudly through the streets of Hillwood._

 _A heavy feeling came over him with every step. Arnold could feel his knees grow weak and stopped to rest briefly._

 _Leaning against the brick wall of the nearby building, he tried to relax his breathing. The pounding in his chest had become unbearable._

' _What am I doing..?' he thought to himself as he turned his back to the wall and slid down to a sitting position on the cool concrete. The night was unusually cold and he was out in nothing more than his usual jeans and flannel shirt, making it easy for the breeze to seep through the thin fabric, pricking his bare skin as if he were naked in an industrial freezer._

 _He hugged himself tightly, hoping it would help warm him up, but it made no difference. He was better just running the cold off._

'… _but why?' his breath finally returning to normalcy, he spoke quietly to himself. "...Why am I doing this?"_

 _Tilting his head upwards, he noticed the night sky was blanketed in stars. It was a rare site for a city, as the pollution from the vast population would normally block out those brilliant, twinkling lights. He admired the sight, for a moment forgetting his goal._

" _Helga…" he sighed, "Why am I even bothering with looking for her?"_

 _His eyes closed tightly and he forced himself to relax through the freezing weather._

" _She's always treated me terribly."_

 _He thought back to the many times she's taunted him. Pulled practical jokes on him. Annoyed him with spitballs in class. She was unbearable._

" _I don't even like…"_

 _A flash of her smiling face filled his mind._

"… _her…" he shook his head violently before resting his forehead in his palm. 'This isn't happening' he thought. "There is no way…that I…"_

 _Involuntarily, his mind wandered to the distraught look she gave him when he'd rejected her. All of the pain and anguish she had been holding captive inside her for who knows how long, finally spilling freely from her…_

 _He slowly got up to a standing position._

 _Clatter._

 _Looking down, he found Helga's locket had fallen out of his pocket. He bent down to pick it up and noticed it had popped open upon impact with the concrete._

 _He noticed a small inscription on the inside._

' _Arnold, my soul. You are always in my heart._

 _Love, Helga G. Pataki'_

 _For a moment, the wind calmed completely. He couldn't hear anything. It felt as if the world had gone still as his eyes darted back and forth on the inscription._

 _His face felt like it was burning up through the cold. A smile wanting to engulf his countenance._

 _The strange tightness in his heart had returned, only this time, he recognized the reason why. Although, he couldn't figure out how._

 _He'd always found Helga interesting, as he liked to try and catch her completely out of her normal 'bully' character. The few times he'd seen her show any kindness, he would feel overjoyed, for he's known that Helga was, deep down, a kind-hearted person. He loved it. But he never thought those feelings would evolve. And with what, just a confession? Something that simple couldn't have possibly cause this change in him. Maybe… he'd always felt this way, in the back of his mind…_

 _And yet, here he was._

 _A heavy heart._

 _A worried mind._

" _I need to find her…"_

 _And off he went, towards the lot where Mighty Pete stood tall._

"I was wrong, Helga. I think… I'm in love with you."

Helga could feel her knees buckle beneath her. Her body overheating. She tried to process the words he'd just said to her, but her head was spinning.

Managing to very softly say his name, she felt herself collapsing into his arms. Within seconds, she was out cold.

"~Helga..?" Arnold tried his best to hold her up, "Helga..! Are you alright?!"

Morning came abruptly. The pig-tailed girl stirred in her bed and slowly opened her eyes. Her familiar wallpaper was the first thing she could see. Sitting up quickly, she felt her head spinning and rested her forehead in her palm.

"Augh… I feel like I've been hit by a bus…"

Helga looked around once more and realized she was in her own room.

"Wha…? How did I get here?"

Remembering the reason she left home in the first place, she dreaded getting out of bed. She didn't want to see Bob. After that disaster at the school, she had hoped to never having anything to do with him.

She conjured up the courage to slide out of bed. Her legs felt weak, her head ached, and a sneeze threatened to make its way out of her.

Stumbling across the room, she grabbed some clothes and changed out of the dirty dress from the day before. As soon as she finished smoothing out her fabric, she heard a knock on her door.

Helga panicked for a split second, before reverting to her usual, cold demeanor. "What?!"

The door cracked open and Bob stood, peering through it. "Can I come in?"

Her heart was racing from the blood that boiled from anger in her veins. She nodded.

"Look," he started, as he entered the room, "I just want you to know, I didn't mean what I said back there…" he stumbled over his words, "You know… I… I was stressed out from work, and… I didn't think about anything else…"

She tried to avert his eyes, and instead focused out the window.

"I looked everywhere for you that afternoon. And I was so relieved when your little friend called to tell me you were staying at the boarding house… He's such a good kid. He even carried you home last night."

"Last night…" she repeated to herself, thinking hard about the events of the night before. Her mind a little fuzzy.

"Yeah. Alfred, I think it was."

"Arnold…?"

"Whatever."

Suddenly feeling a rush of energy, she started for the door.

"Anyway, I'm sorry, Helga."

"What?" she stopped and turned to look at her father, who stared back her. A face full of remorse. "Did… did you just call me 'Helga'?"

He had never addressed her by her name, as he had always made the mistake of calling her by her sister, Olga's name instead. Seeing as how she was his favorite.

Bob walked over to give his daughter a warm embrace before giving her a smile and letting her run off to school.

Helga raced toward PS 118, but felt her legs growing weaker with each step.

"AH-CHOO!"

She tripped over her own feet as she sneezed and stopped to process the memories she could recall from the night before. The events playing back to her like a movie only she could see. Though, it all seemed like a dream she found hard to believe in.

Standing back up, she decided to walk the rest of the way to the school. "It can't be a dream… Bob said he carried me home…" she reassured herself.

Once inside the school building, she made her way towards her classroom. Things were strange today, she thought. Some students were giving her odd looks as she walked passed. She wanted to say something, but decided to calm herself down.

A crowd was gathered in front of Mr. Simmons' room. Helga eyed the group for a moment before realizing it was Friday. "That's right. Simmons posted the pictures today…" she thought about it for a second before it dawned on her, "…Simmons posted the PICTURES today! …He better not have added my name on there…" panic set in as she walked toward the crowd.

She was welcomed by more odd stares by her classmates as she approached.

"So Helga." Rhonda placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "I finally got to see it."

"See WHAT, princess?" Helga rolled her eyes.

"The thing you're 'passionate' about, of course." She finished. An amused giggle taking over.

Helga pushed her way through to the front of the crowd and scanned the images that were posted. Her eyes darting back and forth across the wall, searching for the picture of Arnold that she had taken at the arcade so she could take it down and harass her teacher about posting it.

But what she found was much more shocking.

Her eyes landed on a photo of… herself.

She slowly moved to stand directly in front of the image. Her eyes widened as she noticed the expression on her face… and the locket she treasured pressed against her chest. She felt herself turn pale as she looked below the image to find the name of the artist who took it.

Arnold.

"…wait… how…" her mind flashed back to that afternoon at the park. How she had been talking to her locket, as she had usually done on many occasions. And how Arnold had walked by to help her with her picture. "He must have…"

Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, she noticed her 'assignment' on the wall right next to Arnold's. Her name clearly printed on a small piece of paper underneath it.

Inside, Helga was screaming bloody murder. On the surface, she held a calm, yet somewhat taken aback look on her face.

Her classmates, still crowding the area behind her, giggled and teased.

"Heeeelgaaaa!" Harold laughed in that annoying manner he always did, "You like Arnold?!"

The laughter escalated, and so did the blood that flooded Helga's cheeks. She wanted to punch the boy in the face. She wanted to tackle Rhonda to the ground. She felt like she was going to lose her sanity in the embarrassment.

She began to raise her fist in the air, but before she could swing it at Harold, a voice called out from the other side of the crowd.

"She does. So what?"

Everyone turned around to see Arnold, standing tall and proud. A determined look on his face. Gerald stood to his side.

"I like Helga too."

Helga stared in awe, feeling her knees grow weak.

Rhonda laughed at the statement, "Oh, please, Arnold. You don't have to be THAT nice. How could you possibly like someone like Helga?"

Arnold shot Rhonda and annoyed look before walking through the crowd toward the girl in the pink dress. He gave Helga a warm smile and placed an arm, gently, around her waist. "No, Rhonda. I'm not being 'that nice'. I like… I _love_ Helga."

The crowd gasped in shock.

"And I don't appreciate you picking on her for what or who she likes." He said and walked a very out-of-it Helga into the classroom. The crowd watched in confusion.

He sat her down and stared into her eyes. Hid face flushed from the embarrassment of what he had just done. "Helga…?"

She snapped out of her daydream-mode and focused on the boy before her. "Arnold…"

Arnold reached into his pocket and pulled out her locket. "Helga. Don't worry about them. About anyone." He spoke softly, "Don't let what anyone says or does push you down. Anyone."

Helga found herself getting lost in his words, "You don't really…" she said barely audibly.

"And please," he continued, "Don't face anything alone."

Their classmates began to trickle into the room. Their chatter was softer than usual, as some of them were trying to listen in on the couple in the back of the room.

"But Arnold. You don't really…like me that way…" she said, more with the intent to calm her pounding heart.

But Arnold shook his head, "I meant what I said, Helga. I guess I must have felt this way for a very long time, but I never even realized it. I'm sorry for taking so long… to catch up with you."

He handed her the locket, and she accepted it, her eyes never leaving his.

"You don't have to hide anything anymore."

Glancing down at the locket, Helga noticed the picture had been changed. Instead of the usual photo of his smiling face, two smiles stared back at her from the locket. It was them, at the arcade, when Arnold had used her camera.

"How did you…?"

Arnold gave her a playful smile and nodded his head towards their teacher at the front of the room.

"I have my ways." He said coolly as he leaned in and kissed her sweetly.

The rest of the classroom went back on with their usual gossip and conversation.

"I love you, Helga."

 **Moonlight:** I'm so sorry it took a whole week to finish this! Free time is so scarce nowadays. I wanted to have Arnold's though process as a flashback since I hadn't added that into the previous chapter. (Feel free to throw tomatoes at me.) I hope you all enjoyed it!


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